Football: The Super Bowl experience

Kevin Reddick and Quinton Coples would much rather be playing football this weekend.

Adam Thompson, Sun Journal

Kevin Reddick and Quinton Coples would much rather be playing football this weekend.

Instead, they are roaming New York City making appearances and taking in the Super Bowl experience.

Reddick, a New Bern native, and Kinston’s Coples have spent the week signing autographs, mingling with fans and interacting with fellow professional football players.

They were active with the NFL Play 60 – a national youth health and fitness campaign focused on increasing the wellness of young fans by encouraging them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. They met fans at Macy’s and attended a few VIP parties.

“It’s been great. I would prefer to be playing in it (Super Bowl), but I am glad to have the opportunity to come out here and show my face and get to meet people,” said Reddick, a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints.

On Sunday, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the Denver Broncos will challenge the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII.

The title game will be played at the home of the New York Jets where Coples plays his home games.

“It’s a great opportunity for the Super Bowl and the area to get this experience. It’s great having the first Super Bowl in this city,” said Coples.

“It’s been fun. We’ve enjoyed the atmosphere of Super Bowl week.”

Just by being at the Super Bowl events, and experiencing the surroundings, it gives the Eastern North Carolina stars motivation to play in the big game.

“The Super Bowl is every player’s dream. That’s what you want to do. That’s what you work hard for. This is the ultimate goal,” Coples said.

“At the end of the day, we aren’t there, but we will learn from it and get ready for next year.”

Reddick and Coples grew up less than 40 miles apart, and then were teammates at the University of North Carolina.

After achieving their goal of making it to the National Football League, they got a chance to hang out in the Big Apple during one of the biggest sporting events of the year.

“It definitely makes me more hungry,” Reddick said. “I want to be able to go back to the facility with the guys and work extra hard in the offseason and work for something.”

Reddick recently finished his rookie season with the New Orleans Saints. The linebacker had 12 tackles and forced a fumble.

New Orleans advanced to the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs with a 26-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Jan. 4. The next week, the Saints lost to Super Bowl participant Seattle, 23-15. Reddick made one postseason tackle.

“It was definitely a great experience,” Reddick said. “Going into the offseason, we have to work extra going. We have to better ourselves going into OTAs and training camp so that we can reach our big goal.”

Reddick, who went undrafted last April, learned that nothing comes easy in the NFL.

“You just have to put in the time,” he said. “I definitely have a lot of things to improve on. I feel like I had an OK rookie season. I still have work to do, but that’s what the offseason is for, just to try to get bigger, faster and stronger.

“I’m going to continue to stay in the film room and continue to be coachable and learn from the older guys.”

Coples, a former first-round draft pick, is coming off his second season with the Jets. The linebacker recorded 38 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

The Jets were 8-8 but won their final two games of the regular season.

“I got a lot of great compliments from my coaches,” Coples said. “Everything has been going well. Moving forward, I feel better and I am healthier. Things are going in the right direction.

“We are excited about the future and ready to move forward.”

Reddick and Coples are managed by the same group – Millenium Sports Management Group.

“Millenium Sports Management Group, and my man Kurtis Stewart and his team, have put everything together for me,” Reddick said. “I want to give a big shout out to them.”

Adam Thompson can be contacted at 252-635-5669 or at Adam.Thompson@newbernsj.com. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.

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